


The Customer is Always Right

by 021497J



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Minor Swearing, written after binge watching kitchen nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 23:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16169324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/021497J/pseuds/021497J
Summary: Kun is head chef at Neo Culture. Dinner service is running smoothly when a dish is sent back, the complaint baseless. After remaking the dish, the plate is sent back once again.Ten honestly isn't a picky eater, the chicken was dry. His complaints earn him a visit from the very cute head chef. He can't help it if he wants to see him once more, all he has to do is complain...right?





	The Customer is Always Right

The finishing touch of balsamic reduction is artistically dotted along the edge of the plate. Kun slides the order onto the window calling the server for table six. Once the tables plates are successfully expedited, he calls the next ticket.

 

“One salmon, two caprese, one duck!” The call is met with a unified ‘yes chef” from his line.

 

The sounds of knifes hitting board, blazing fire, and clanking metal fill the kitchen. The team communicates in monosyllabic phrases, their harmony displaying the history of their work together. Kun sears the salmon adding a drizzle of lemon juice once a golden brown crisp appears.

 

“Chef,” Jaemin says.

 

“One second,” Kun doesn’t pay him a glance, his focus on plating the salmon. “Sicheng, finish this salmon.” He calls for his sous chef to add the finishing touches.

 

“Chef,” Jaemin says again once Kun successfully positions the cooked salmon on the plate.

 

“Yes,” Kun finally looks at the waiter, a frown overtaking his features as he spots a plate in his hands.

 

“They said it was dry.” Jaemin lifts the dish, a picked at chicken breast along with the sides sit on the plate.

  
“They want another?” Kun takes the plate from his hands. He pinches a bite of chicken off and pops it into his mouth. His frown deepens as he is met with a perfectly cooked piece of chicken.

 

“Yes,” Jaemin hesitates before saying the next part. “They said to tell you not to serve them sandpaper again.” Kun huffs a laugh at the words, that’s a first.

 

“Will do,” Kun takes a moment to call out the next ticket before going to work on the replacement dish.

 

Kun takes special care of the plate making sure the meat is cooked perfectly. He calls for Jaemin to take the plate once he’s finished. He immediately rejoins his line calling out another ticket. The kitchen runs smoothly pumping out dishes in a steady stream. Only minutes later Jaemin returns with the plate in hand. A single bite is cut off the chicken, the sides still in order.

 

“They said it was bland.” Jaemin offers a sympathetic frown. That is a complaint he rarely gets, in fact it is rare for a dish to even be sent back.

 

“Fucking hell.” Kun mumbles under his breath, he knows for a fact the plate is not bland. “Do they want another?” The irritation is evident in his words, he doesn’t have time for this.

 

“No chef,” Jaemin opens his mouth to continue, but immediately closes it.

 

“Go ahead,” Kun encourages the younger to continue.

 

“They said they would…rather go to McDonald's.” Jaemin utters the words so softly that Kun almost misses them, but he doesn’t. His jaw drops, his annoyance skyrocketing.

 

“Sicheng,” Kun wipes his hands on the rag hanging on his shoulder. “Take over for a moment.”

 

“Yes chef,” The sous chef responds.

 

“Take me to them.” Kun rounds the corner to meet Jaemin on the opposite side of the window.

 

Jaemin leads Kun to the dining area, the tables full and room bustling. They are stopped by a table that praises Kun upon reading the title stitched into his white coat. Kun graciously accepts their words shaking their hands. Jaemin anxiously waits to the side, his gaze scanning a table in the distance. The restaurant is relatively small, reservations required to be seated. Once Kun escapes the talkative table, Jaemin leads him to a booth by the front.

 

At the table are two guys around his age, he would guess. It is immediately obvious which of the two is his complainer, one sits with a cleaned plate while the other’s plate is absent. The boy sits typing at his phone, his side profile displaying a perfectly sculpted nose and long eyelashes.

 

“Hello,” The two sitting glance up at his words. “I'm Qian Kun the head chef. I'm so sorry about the trouble with your dish. Is there anything more I can do for you?” The dark-haired boy meets his eyes, light blue colored contacts gracing his eyes.

 

“No, I don’t think there’s anything more you can do.” His voice is sickeningly sweet, a facade put in place on both sides.

 

“That’s too bad.” Kun gives an exaggerated frown, his eyes briefly traveling the length of his body. He forces his gaze not to linger on the exposed chest created by the multiple buttons undone. A long silver chain with a pendant hanging on the end graces the bare skin of his chest, his lips a darkened cherry. He is captivated by the boy in front of him for a moment until he regains his senses.

 

“Again, I'm so sorry. We will comp both of your meals tonight.” Kun finally glances to the other boy, his dusty blonde hair perfectly styled. While he is objectively very attractive, Kun’s attention is drawn to the other.

  
“Thank you,” The dark-haired boy responds, a smile curls at his lips.

 

“I hope you’ll come back to give us a second try.” The way the boys’ eyes scan his features is not missed, his eyes burning a trail wherever they went.

 

“Hm, maybe.” His tongue swipes at the tips of his teeth, his lips slightly parted to reveal the action.

 

Kun gives a nod of his head and one last glance before he retreats to the kitchen. Not surprisingly, the rest of the night continues with ease. No plates are returned, only complements are sent back. The image of the boy remains in his mind due to both his harsh words and enticing appearance. It doesn’t sit well in his stomach, for some reason he longs to confront the boy again. Kun hopes the boy will come back, or that they will meet again. Their meeting tonight was all too short.

 

-

 

“One mushroom risotto, two duck, one tomato basil!” Kun shouts the order to his line. The clamor of their working kitchen fills the room, it’s a typical busy Sunday.

 

“Chef,” A voice calls for him from the window. Kun finishes swiping mango coulis on the plate before he looks up.

 

“Yes,” Kun nods at Renjun to continue.

 

“They said they wanted medium rare.” Kun’s lips downturn when Renjun holds up a plate, the filet mignon cut into. Renjun sets the plate in the window, Kun leans in to get a better look at the meat. He mumbles a swear under his breath when he sees the perfect amount of pink.

 

“This is textbook medium rare.” Kun holds the plate in the light to confirm the state of the meat. “Do they want it cooked more? Less?” Renjun shrugs his shoulders.

 

“They didn’t say.” Renjun picks up the order placed in the window leaving Kun with the plate.

 

Kun throws the filet in a pan letting it cooks for minutes longer. With less pink than before, Kun plates the meat. Once the dish is out the kitchen doors in Renjun’s hands, Kun calls out the next ticket. The kitchen works in harmony as tickets are continued to be cleared. A sigh leaves Kun’s lips the moment Renjun returns to the kitchen, a plate in his hands.

 

“Chef,” Kun nods for him to continue. “They said that you, uh, clearly can’t cook a steak. They said to tell you that, and I quote, blew your second chance.” Kun’s eyes snap from the plate to Renjun when the words leave him mouth.

 

“What?” The man from a couple weeks earlier comes into mind. He had told him to give them a second chance, could this be the same boy? It definitely sounds like it could be his complainer.

 

“I don’t know, they just said to tell you specifically that.” Renjun sets the plate on the counter by the other dirty dishes. Kun checks the time on the digital clock mounted on the wall, they close in twenty minutes. As usual at their restaurant, they stop taking reservations once they hit thirty minutes left until closing.

 

“Sicheng, take over for a moment.” Kun sighs as he rinses his hands off at the sink station. He pats down his face after drying his hands. “Where is he?” Renjun leads the way to a table immediately to the left of the kitchen door, he gestures to the two men sitting there before returning to the kitchen.

 

“Hello, I'm the head chef Qian Kun.” The dark-haired boy snaps his gaze to Kun, it is his infamous complainer. “But I believe we’ve already met. I'm sorry I never got your name.”

 

“I'm Ten and yes we have met.” Ten turns towards him, another haphazardly buttoned blouse gracing his frame. It might just be the lighting, but Kun swears the exposed skin shimmers.

 

“I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Ten.” Kun clasps his hand together, an emphatic frown tugging at his eyebrows. “Maybe you could give us another chance sometime. We would love to have you back.”

 

“Hm…maybe.” Ten hums in response, his lips pursing in thought. Again, a dark tint is applied to the lips. The color more of a cherry red, Kun finds himself swallowing at the sight. Ten shifts in his seat, a sparkle out of the corner of his eye has Kun’s gaze trailing to the boys’ collarbone. The ridge created by the bone is an intoxicating sight.

 

“Thank you for coming tonight, dinner is on the house.” Kun tears his stare away from Ten’s exposed skin, this isn’t the place to drool over boys. He spares Ten one last glance before retreating to the kitchen.

 

-

 

Their encounters continue, more of Ten’s complaining continues. It got to the point where Kun knew it wasn’t due to the food. The most recent complaint was a simple ‘that was terrible’ which was accompanied by a clear plate, the meal residing in Ten’s belly. Kun has been able to leave the kitchen to apologize most nights, the occasional intense night he would have to send his regards with one of the servers.

 

“Your boy came in yesterday, surprisingly there was no complaint once I told him you weren’t working.” Kun huffs out a laugh, his hands working at chopping vegetables. “But he did tell me to give you this. I didn’t look at it, but its kind of obvious what it is.” Renjun holds out a folded white scrap of paper.

 

“Thank you.” Kun takes the slip, his fingers playing at the curled edges. He unfolded the creased paper once Renjun leaves him.

 

_116-722-6991_

_Text me if you want to learn to cook_

 

Kun runs his finger along the black ink, the paper slightly discolored from the night spent with Renjun. He walks over to his backpack carefully tucking the paper into a pocket, he definitely doesn’t want to lose that.

 

The night passes smoothly, plates expedited with ease. The Tuesday night is on the slow side, Kun turns on quiet classical as background music. He lets Sicheng take control of the kitchen as he mingles in the dining room. Customers rave about the food, Kun feels a swell of proud in his chest as they praise his sous chef.

 

Kun returns to the kitchen for the remaining two hours in dinner service. The night is uneventful, his mind preoccupied by the thought of Ten. By the time he got home from work, it was hours too late to text Ten. He didn't want to text him in the dead of night, what kind of message would that send? Instead Kun passes out with plans to message the boy tomorrow.

 

-

 

Much to his dismay, Kun lost Ten’s number. Somehow, he had misplaced the paper. He had torn apart his backpack and searched his apartment for the folded slip but found nothing. It’s been four days and silence has come from the dining room. No complaints have been sent back, and Kun hopes that the lack of message from him didn’t give Ten the wrong idea.

 

The front of the restaurant is packed on the Saturday night, tickets have been flooding the window. Kun is feeling the heat of the rush, physically and mentally. Sounds fill the room as the kitchen comes to life. There’re the words from his line, the sizzle of meat, the crackle of a fire, and the scrap of metal. In his focus, Kun almost misses Jaemin’s call.

 

“Chef,”

 

“Yes,” Kun responds after he calls the next ticket.

 

“He’s back.” Kun immediately knows who he is referring to. “He said that he can wait until you’re free unless you don’t think you will have time tonight.” Kun can sense the question in Ten’s words. He’s asking if Kun is interested. If he is he will wait, if he isn’t he will leave. The answer to his question is simple.

 

“Tell him to wait.”

 

-

 

The kitchen is finally dying down, only two tickets remain. Some of his line has begun to clean the kitchen, while the last meals are prepared. Kun plates the salmon he just cooked, adding the greens and drizzling the lemon garlic reduction.

 

After the last plate leaves the kitchen, he pats his line on the back praising them on a job well done. He excuses himself for a minute to venture into the dining room. A few tables are left with the meals sent out minutes before. There’s one table with a small dark-haired boy who sits alone, his usual companion absent.

 

Kun walks towards him taking his time to scan the boys’ figure. His outfit is different than what he is usually in. Gone is the deep v-line and exposed chest, instead a simple white cotton shirt covers him. Although the shirt is more modest than the previous, the neckline is stretched and loose to reveal his collarbones. Ten taps at his phone as he waits for Kun, his fingers decorated with silver rings and an intricate chain detail that drapes across the top of his hand. The sight of the shiny metal on his pale skin makes Kun’s mouth go dry.

 

“Ten, it’s nice to see you again.”

 

“Kun,” Ten locks his phone setting it face down on the table. “How nice of you to see me.” Kun could feel the bite in his words.

 

“Of course, anything for my favorite customer.” He plasters a smile on his face sliding into the chair opposite the boy.

 

“Oh, I'm your favorite?” Ten places his elbows on the table propping his chin on his palm. “Didn’t seem like it a couple days ago.” He raises his eyebrows at Kun, a smile tilting at the corner of his mouth.

 

“Let me make it up to you.”

 

“How are you going to do that?” Ten purses his lips, his body shifting in towards Kun slightly.

 

“Have dinner with me tonight.” He wants to see Ten somewhere that is not his workplace. he wants to talk to him freely and not with the customer service facade.

 

“As long as you’re not cooking.” Kun bites back a smile at the boys’ words. He’s adamant on the stance of hating Kun’s food, but he’s eaten most of everything Kun has served him.

 

“No, I'm done cooking for today. I’ll take you out.” Kun lets his smile curl his lips. “Wait here for me. I have to finish in the back.” Kun doesn’t let Ten get a word in before he retreats to the kitchen.

 

This might be the night Kun gets the kitchen clean the fastest, he gains a couple curious glances from Sicheng as he cleans. He doesn't want to make Ten wait any longer than he already has.

 

-

 

As they walk, Kun begins to get a feel of Ten's personality, he doesn’t ever shut his mouth. The moment a thought enters his mind it is voiced, his very opinionated nature a stark contrast from his own. Kun welcomes the difference, he enjoys the silence filled with Ten’s voice, but he can’t help but tease the boy.

 

“Do you ever shut up?” Kun interrupts Ten’s stream of words. He had no choice, Ten would’ve gone on for ages. Beside him, Ten comes to a halt.

 

“I—” Ten opens his mouth then closes it pressing his lips together. It’s obvious that withholding his words is almost painful. It only takes a moment before he’s speaking again. “No, I really don’t. I talk all…the…time.”

 

Kun steps in closer to him, the youngers back hitting the brick wall. Kun drops his head in towards Ten, his lips swaying close. Ten is effectively shut up by the close distance…for now. His lips are parted and painted a bitten red, almost as if he’d just eaten a raspberry popsicle.

 

“What—”

 

Ten’s words are cut off by his lips. The younger’s already parted lips allow Kun to slot their lips together immediately. He softly suckles at Ten’s bottom lip, a disappointing lack of raspberry there. He isn’t allowed a second thought to the berry before Ten’s tongue slides across his top lip. Kun brings his hand up to palm the area under his right ear, his thumb swiping at his jawline while his index finger brushes Ten's hair.

 

Their lips move together in a pace set by Kun, Ten fights to quicken the movements every so often. Kun can feel the soft exhales from Ten across his face, the boys’ hands moving to grip at the back of his neck. Once again, Ten prods his tongue forward attempting to deepen the kiss further. A whine of frustration bubbles at the back of his throat, the sound spurring Kun. He responds by running his tongue along Ten's inner lip, the younger's jaw immediately goes slack for him.

 

Kun dips his tongue into the boys’ mouth meeting the others in a soft stroke. Ten rises to his tippy toes to effectively deepen their kiss, his arm slinging around Kun’s neck. Their tongues move together in slow caresses, Kun can taste a hint of the dinner the boy had eaten earlier. A low moan sounds from Ten as Kun runs his tongue along the roof of his mouth. Kun gives a parting stroke of the tongue before pulling back to cool their kiss down.

 

Their kiss slows, gradually calming to gentle pecks. Kun pulls back, his breath in soft pants. He immediately wants to lean back in once he sets eyes on the boy in front of him. Ten's eyelids are heavy and his lips a deeper red from the natural tint accompanying their kiss.

 

“Now about dinner, I'm starving.” Kun places a quick kiss at the corner of Ten's mouth before untangling himself from the boy.

 

“What-I…okay.” Ten’s voice is breathy, his eyes slightly dazed.

 

“Come on,” Kun intertwines their fingers tugging Ten into his side. For once, the boy next to him is silent, content to snuggle into his side.

**Author's Note:**

> helloo thank you for reading!! this was something that I couldn't stop thinking about so I had to write it. I have yuwin and johnjae aus on my twitter. I have a new yuwin chaptered fic on here that I'm working on. I hope you will check out some of my other works!!! thanks for reading!!!
> 
> \- [twitter](https://twitter.com/021497J?lang=en) \- [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/021497J) -


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